This short tutorial is to help those with mild paint problems. Some paint will require a professional's touch in order to come out looking good without going through your clear coat. This is aimed more towards people who's paint is older, but not overly oxidized and so on. This is my once a year cleaning...
Step 1: Wash
Find a nice, shady spot and wet the car down. It will be better if it's not too hot outside, or if you can pull the car into a cooled garage once you're done washing.
Start by identifying possible problems. Bugs, road tar, and so on will be hard to get off and will take a lot of elbow grease. I'm yet to find a bug/tar remover that has worked well, so I've taken a spray bottle ($1 at wally world) and put some overly concentrated soapy water in it. It's mixed about twice as stong as what I'd normally wash the car with. Do this, then spray it over the possibly problem areas and allow it to soak, but not dry. This will help loosen the bugs and such to allow you to scrub them off with much less effort.
Now mix you're water and car shampoo (please don't use dish soap) in your handy dandy bucket. With your wash mit, begin washing from top to bottom, making sure to rinse what you've washed before the soap dries. I always do the wheels and tires last, as brake dust and tire shine seem to kill your bubbles in no time.
Step 2: Claybar
Now it's time for clay. I personally like Sonus Ultra-Fine Detailing Clay. I don't bother with the expensive lubricating/detailing sprays. Grab that spray bottle of soapy water and use it. For me, it works much better.
Work in small sections or one body panel at a time. Spray the soapy solution onto the paint, then slide the claybar back and forth over the paint. Make sure you keep adding the soapy solution, as you don't want the clay to hit a dry spot and stick to the paint. You're cleaning the paint too, so keep your motions straight, running from the front of the car to the rear. No circles. Rinse each body panel as you go, then do a quick rewash and dry the car with a chamois when you're done. This should have your paint feeling smoother already.
Step 3: Paint Cleaner
Paint cleaner is pretty much just a rougher polish. You can skip this step if you don't have any scratches, scuffs, or swirl marks to take care of.
I personally use Meguires Step 1 Paint Cleaner. This is available at pretty much any auto store. It may not viewed as high quality, but it gets the job done. Trust me.
Again, one panel at a time, apply the paint cleaner to a clean wax applicator and apply it to the panel with straight motions, from front to rear, as with the clay. Circular motion will most likely just leave you with more swirl marks, which are ugly. Use light pressure over the panel, letting the product do the work. Do not spend a lot of time around hard edges and creases. The paint and clear coat is normally thinner here and we don't want to take too much off.
With a clean, lint free terry cloth, wipe the polish from the panel, then flip the cloth over and wipe again to get any access. Once a terry cloth starts to get caked up with the paint cleaner, get another one. It's worthless to try and remove anymore with it. I use about 4-5 terry cloths for paint cleaner, and another 4-5 for polish. They're washable, so don't worry. DO NOT LET THIS STUFF DRY ON YOUR CAR!! It will be a royal PITA to remove.
At this point, your paint might look a little hazy, but don't worry. It'll be taken care of in the next step.
Step 3: Polish
Polish is the last step in preparing your paint for wax. If used correctly, it will remove any fine scratches left behind from the paint cleaner. I use Mequires Step 2 Polish for the same reason that I use their Paint Cleaner. It works.
Apply the polish in the same manner as the paint cleaner, being sure to use a straight motion from the front of the panel, to the rear. One panel at a time, and wiping the access off before it dries. When you're done with the polish, your paint should look nice and smooth, lacking the swirl marks and the majority of the scratches it had before. It gets better though.
Step 4: Wax
Waxes act as your paints protectants from the elements. They also add a good deal of shine to your paint. However, there are a million different kinds of waxes out there. Carnubas seem to give a better shine, while synthetics last longer. Mequires has met in the middle with they're new NXT Paste Wax. It costs about $15/can and is available, once again, at pretty much any auto parts store. And again, it works. Stay away from liquid wax though, as it doesn't last nearly as long in my experience.
Starting with another clean wax applicator, apply the wax of your choice with light, circular motion. It doesn't take a lot, and it doesn't take much. You just need to get some onto the paint, not smother it with the stuff. Once you've done a panel, sit back for a few minutes and let it dry to a light haze. Wiping it off too soon is not only difficult and will smear it, but it allows the wax to bind with the paint so it can do it's job. Once dry, buff the wax off with a clean terry cloth. Take a moment, even though your arm is tired and by now you just want to get this over with, and just admire that first panel. Motivation. You should be impressed, and now it's time for the whole car to look like that. Continue until you've waxed all painted parts of the car.
Most waxes need 24hrs to cure. At that point, you can rewash, dry, and apply another coat of wax. This will help the wax last long, as well as add a little more "depth" to the paint.
If you wish, you can wax your wheels too. This seems to make taking brake dust and road grime off a lot easier in later washes.
Step 5: The Black Stuffs
Here, I prefer Mothers Back-to-Black. Again, available at most parts stores, it's inexpensive and works. Use another clean terry cloth to apply this to your black plastic and rubber trim. It will bring the stuff alive and make the white residue from old wax and such disappear. Good as new.
For tire shine, I use Armor-All Extreme Tire Shine Gel. This stuff seems to last forever and it doesn't get all over the place when you put it on as sprays will. It comes with it's own applicator. Use as directed.
Step 6: Glass
Some people look at you funny when you go buy a newspaper for the sole purpose of cleaning your car, but again, it works. For cleaner, I used Stoner's Invisible Glass. Just spray some onto the section of glass you're cleaning, and use a piece of crumpled up news paper to clean the glass, just as you would with a paper towel before. I don't know why newspaper works, but it does. Keep rubbing until the glass cleaner has pretty much evaporated, then do the inside.
Step 7: Exhaust
There's no since in cleaning, polishing, and waxing if your exhaust tip is all nasty looking. I use a product called Never-Dull that we used to use in ROTC on our brass. It comes in a small can and is basically a bunch of metal polish saturated fibers. Pull some out, then use it to polish your exhaust tip and/or muffler. Wipe with yet another clean terry cloth...bling bling.
Step 8: Clean Up and Enjoy
Pick up all your stuff and put it away. Wash your terry cloth towels in warm water with mild laundry detergent, then dry them in the dryer. Don't use fabric softner or dryer sheets as they leave a residue on the towels and will smear onto your paint. Wax applicators can also be washed, but usually need to be air dried. It should say on the package.
Tips
- If a wax applicator touches the ground, it's junk. Dirt will stick to these and just put scratches in your paint, sometimes deep ones. Toss it and grab a clean one. Terry clothes can be washed, but once it's been dropped on the ground, it shouldn't touch the car again until it's been washed and dried. Neither of these items are expensive, so keep a bunch of'em. You'll be happy you spent the extra money later.
- This usually takes 3-5 hours depending on the car. I did 4.5hrs this past time on my BD, so make sure you have an evening set aside with no interuptions. The cooler and more shaded the better. The lower the humidity, the better. A climate controlled garage is best, but we don't all have that luxury.
- They do make better products to clean your car with than meguires. If you have the money, go ahead and get'em. I'm personally happy with the products I've highlighted here, and use them often. They do work, but you may find something else that works better. Report back if you find something and let us know. The more shine, the better.
Pics
Top of my car when I was done. It's silver, btw.
Disclaimer: Follow at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage to your car while attempting to do so. All information is to the best of my personal knowledge.
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dayum... Your car is glossy. 
Originally Posted by warrior
